So, I recently purchased a road case supposedly owned by NIN

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Lockdownx99

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So the story goes, I was in the market for a live-in amp head case w/8-10 space shock mounted rack. After a few weeks of searching I came across an Ebay sale for a Road case fitting the bill, and then some. Its a little bigger than I needed but it fits my head (Triple Rec) and its got a cool back story.

The owner listed it as a "World Tour used and Artist Owned" flight case owned by Nine Inch Nails. He was looking for about $1300 for it. He said he purchased it along with a ton of other stuff in a lot sale after a tour a few years back. He also has a few other things of the bands for sale but I wasn't interested. Anyways, Its not that I don't believe at one point in time it might have been used by them, but with the markings, obscure signature (or scribble) and other tell tale signs I thought maybe I could get a little opinion from somebody a little more in the know about the rig and what/who it might have been used for!

So the exterior dimensions are 49 1/2" tall x 31" wide x 28" deep and weighs 165lbs. The bottom head space is fitted for a Mesa Boogie Rectifier series head. There is a carpeted side pocket for storage and the Rack is a 14 space, front AND rear shock mounted rack. It was Built by A&S cases in Hollywood. I thought about calling and asking but I'm not really that worried about it. I mainly just posted because I'm stoked to have a nice case, and maybe have a little bar room chat about its prominence over a beer or 2 lol! Cheers guys!

The sides have "SR" and "GR3" stenciled on each side and top of the case. I thought GR3 might have stood for Guitar Rig 3. A friend and myself have settled on the idea that SR might stand for Stage Right. There is a sticker on the inside that has the letter "A" on the door to the storage compartment. My buddy said that might mean its Rig A, but then that would contradict my GR3 theory. There is also some sort of signature or scribble with a silver paint pen on the underside of the rack. I only noticed it after trying to get dust and junk out of the bottom with the vacuum and remove/reroute some of the secured wiring.

The seller said he thinks it was shared between Trent and Robin Finck, or Justin Meldal-Johnson. I assume he didn't get a ton of information with the sale, but he did say he had stuff (COA maybe) to prove it was used by the band. Not sure if he had proof that it was necessarily those members. After talking him down from the heavens of an asking price he was seeking, I didn't push the issue of seeing any authenticity. My entire argument for "fair price" was due to not caring about the intrinsic value and only being interested in getting a case for my rig so I felt it best not add insult to injury. Now that its all over and I own it, it is slightly intriguing to ponder, right?

There is a bit of wiring inside too. There is a light wired just over the head compartment, as well as a Mesa power cord secured nicely to the wall of the pocket. Score, Me! now I don't have to carry a loose power supply for my head. There is also a few handmade, hand twisted speaker cables and connections with "in" and "out" labels on them. One or 2 have "Palmer in", "Palmer channel 1 thru", "hot plate in", and "Mesa 4ohm cab in". I figure with this much info on specific gear evidence etc, someone might have a little more knowledge than I. Sorry for the long first post and thanks for the help/conversation!
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They were selling a Mesa Stiletto a few years back when I was in the market for one.That they claimed was on tour with NIN. Whatever, all that means to me is is was rode hard.
 
Probably. So i guess Mesa wasn't totally out of the picture then. Thats the type of info I was after. Ive done a little reading and a few of the many guitar players over the years have been listed as using Mesa at some point in time in their career, but i haven't found conclusive evidence that a rectifier had been used on any NIN tour/record by any notable member. Thanks for the post.
 
Are you thinking of paying what I would consider a premium price for a used road case because it may have been used by NIN?
 
who cares who it was owned by? I never get this line of thinking, especially for something as insignificant as a road case.

paying more for something that was beat to shit on the road makes no sense to me.
 
I think it's cool but I hope you didn't pay too much. I get it though.. If knowing that someone in NIN used it gives it more mojo and inspires you then I guess it might be worth a little extra.

FWIW, I bought a used case (Head + 6 space rack) several years ago at a Music Go Round for $99.
 
When considering its approximate used value, I took into consideration what they were being sold for new (smaller versions lacking amenities this one possesses), What I was finding for them used, and what was available to me in my local (driving) area.

I could have one with a 12 space rack and NO side pocket for $680+tax. I found one on Ebay for $587 shipped but its a 6 space rack. Thats by a brand called Safe Cases in TX. Again, no storage pocket. Both of those are brand new. I found a used one on Ebay (2 rectifier head case with 8 space rack) for $300 plus $175 to ship. It was really shallow and tall, a lot of the hardware was pitting or rusting slightly, and I didn't need 2 head spaces so I passed. So either way I was going to be into anything for about $500 or more. The one I ended up finding and purchasing, I bought for $500. I thought that was a fair price considering the double sided rack, the side pocket, the fact that its made by one of the top flight case manufacturers in the country and that it was the most available to me in my local area!

I didn't consider prominence at all. Like said before, I told the guy i could care less who owned it or used it. I was strictly on the hunt for a case and not a piece of memorabilia. After going back and forth, I got the price down from $1300 to $500 cash. I felt that was a decent deal. Its a lot more than I needed, but it won't go to waste.

Now that I own it, curiosity intrigues me and I figured I would start a nice conversation about it. It has the logos printed on the sides and inevitably someone might be interested in the history. If nothing else, it could be a cool conversation piece, which I thought it would be here as well. I obviously don't want to claim it was owned by NIN if it in fact was not.
 
I'm not sure why anyone would bust your balls on this. It's really none of anyone's business what you paid for this. That's a high quality case made by a reputable company that they will likely stand behind it if you have any trouble in the future. Quality road cases are not cheap. Yeah, you might find a deal once in a while if you have the time and patients to wait, but we all know how that goes. That's a damn nice case with a cool backstory. I dig it.
 
LOL. thanks GTRWUN. I appreciate the feedback. thats pretty much how i felt. Even if i did overpay by a little, i feel its worth it to me and Im going to get a good amount of use out of it. So, whoever thinks I'm a sucker can .....suck it??? lol. just kidding. It didn't come wit ha roadie, but i do have a lifetime roadie if I ever need one. so i have that going for me!!! The price i paid i feel is market value after all the research I've done. now I'm off the bigger and better things such as ground control pro and GCX switcher. My wife is loving me now more than ever since I'm spending all this money. lets hope the band stays together long enough to make it worth its while!
 
Nice case you got there man, congrats on finding one to your liking. I shopped for a year before finding mine, wich I got for $300. I had to drive 5 hrs to go get it but well worth it. The case was mint and fitted my big ass 5153, wich Is one of the largest heads I have seen. Wide like a Herbert.

It's really convenient to have everything nice and tight in there. Love it.

Here's mine:

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Let's hit the road now!!!!!!!!

Chris
 
Thats a really nice setup you have there! I had to drive a few hours to pick this one up as well, but it was worth it. Another guitar player and myself made a small road trip out of it. Im happy to have it. Now I need to start filling it up with rack accessories.
 
Lockdownx99":2cfir80y said:
Thats a really nice setup you have there! I had to drive a few hours to pick this one up as well, but it was worth it. Another guitar player and myself made a small road trip out of it. Im happy to have it. Now I need to start filling it up with rack accessories.

Thanks man :thumbsup:

Really happy with my purchase, cleaned up my rig and tone big time. Just got a road case for my G system also, serves as a pedal board too, really wicked.



I also installed a mixer to blend some dry tone in my wet cabs, I am running my rig WDW, I made a little shelf and put the mixer in the little compartment. Very convenient.



Still have space under for stuff.

The whole loading and plugging all the rack stuff in is a hell of a lot of fun, I enjoyed that very much!!!!!!

Love that stuff. Now go and get some more gear :rock:
 
I guess you are running a similar setup to Barry Stock. He does a wet dry wet system with those custom made 6x12 cabs he's got. I bet it sounds killer.
 
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